WOMEN ARE MORE EVOLVED THAN MEN

Wow, this came as a surprise, I mean, sure they look better than we do, they move better than we do, they are softer than we are, they smell better than we do, I think I just changed my own mind, I am no longer surprised!!!   And to add  the story, just by empherical observation, I have seen far more Beer Bellies on men, than Pregnant Bellies on Women.  And there is another thing to add to the above list, Pregnant Bellies on Woman look far better than Beer Bellies on Men.  Women, I invite you to read on and acknowledge what you have always known. Men I invite you to read and weep that it has been revealed to the world that we are evolutionarily disadvantaged, or don't read and men,

remember our battle cry "IGNORANCE IS BLISS!!"

--John--

Pregnant? Backache? It could be worse

Thursday, 13 December 2007 Maggie Fox
Reuters  News in Science  ABC

 

Leaning backwards helps pregnant women avoid extra strain on their spine, according to scientists who say women have evolved this way. But men have no such adaptation so can't balance their beer guts by leaning backwards

Pregnant women who lean backwards to shift their centre of gravity can thank evolution for their awkward stance, anthropologists say.

It may be a way of saving pregnant women from extra back pain, the researchers report today in the journal Nature.

Women's lower vertebrae have evolved a distinct shape to allow them to shift their centre of gravity without damaging the spine, says Dr Katherine Whitcome, now of  Harvard University and colleagues.

"It was one of these things like, 'Oh my God, no one's ever thought of this', and it looks so obvious," says Dr Liza Shapiro of the University of Texas at Austin, who helped supervise the work.

Whitcome and Shapiro followed 19 women through their pregnancy, using digital cameras and motion analysis equipment to map the changes in stance and movement as the months passed.

"What women do when their pregnancy reaches about half of the expected mass ... they shift backwards," Shapiro says.

"If you didn't have any of those mechanisms, the only way to offset a load in front of you is to contract your back muscles. The more you have to use your muscles, the more discomfort you would have. It would be worse otherwise, and there would be more potential damage to the vertebrae."

 

Avoiding stress on spine 

 

Without this change in shape, the vertebrae could be subject to shearing forces, with one sliding over another, damaging the fluid-filled discs in between or pulling on ligaments and muscles.

"The shape of the vertebrae allows her to rotate the upper body," Shapiro says.

When she moved to Harvard, Whitcome continued the study and looked at the fossils of pre-humans known as australopithecenes, as well as at the bone structure of our nearest living relatives, the chimpanzees.

"These differences are absent in the chimpanzee. So there is something unique about humans," Whitcome says.

"We also see some evidence for these adaptations in early australopithecenes."

 

How about men?

 

Men do not have this adaptation, either, Shapiro says.

"We can only conclude that men can't resist the forces of their big bellies as well as women. They are at a disadvantage," she says.

"They probably lean back the same way to try and balance that load, but they are kind of putting their vertebrae more at risk. I am sure there has got to be a correlation between having a big beer gut and having back pain," Shapiro says.  (added note: Anyone else notice that Chimps, and Men do not have this adaption, but women do?  Mother Nature is obviously biased!--John)

 (Disclaimer:  Those are not my baby pictures, and this is not my beer belly.  Thank you.)